It was well-known that the grave robbers who repeatedly stole from large tombs were connected to people of status in town. The county officials, in order to retain the faith of the people, displayed the stolen goods publicly. Lulu secretly went to look and recognized some of the stolen goods as those which her father said had been buried with the ancestors. She loudly complained of injustice, since she knew her father was innocent, and as a result, she was beaten within an inch of her life.
After that incident, her best friend, with whom she had been staying and who had been embarra.s.sed by the scandal, politely asked Lulu to leave her home. At that time, Lulu thought often about death before she eventually began to think about revenge. She decided to disguise herself as a beggar and wander the streets to see if she could learn more information about the grave robbers and avenge her father"s death.
During one of her outings, Lulu saw Huang Shuai outside the door of a wealthy family. Through asking around town, Lulu learned that Huang Shuai was about to become the wealthy family"s son-in-law. At first, Lulu planned to expose Huang Shuai immediately, but thinking about her last experience with the man, she calmed down and formulated a more rational plan. She began to monitor Huang Shuai, secretly collecting evidence against him.
Slowly, Huang Shuai"s behavior became clear to Lulu. The friends he"d made all those years ago were grave thieves. When he wasn"t running around with them robbing graves, Huang Shuai was busy defrauding the women of rich families everywhere. With all of the money he collected from his various endeavors, Huang Shuai was able to build a very good reputation for himself. Many people believed him to be a business genius.
It took months for Lulu to feel that she had collected enough material to make a case against Huang Shuai. At that time, she filed a complaint against him and several of the grave robbers. To her surprise, the county magistrate looked at her doc.u.ments then sent her straight to jail. The first person to visit her was Huang Shuai. He was also the last.
That night, Lulu, like her father, was killed in prison.
As Lulu told me her story, her expression remained flat, but her hand that rested on her thigh trembled a little.
I did not know how to comfort her. I reached out my hand and patted her on her shoulder lightly. In response, Lulu suddenly jumped into my arms, her head on my chest. I felt a cold spot on my chest and realized that Lulu was crying.
I caressed her back and stayed silent. Lulu was not as cold nor as strong as she usually was. For now, I decided to let her cry as long as she needed to.
However, Lulu did not cry for a long time. She soon wiped her tears with her hand then raised her head. She didn"t look any different than she usually did unless I looked closely. Then I could see a little bit of dew under her eyes and a little bit of redness in her cheeks.
"Do you know why I was able to obtain the consent of the earth and to remain here for revenge?" Lulu asked me.
I shook my head. Lulu smiled and uttered words that made me feel as though my organs were liquefying.
"Huang Shuai said that I would never walk the earth again. So his friends brought my body here, the Fan Building, and buried me under the toilet. They thought that by burying me in such a dirty place, they could drive my ghost away. Have you heard that women"s menstruation can do that?" Lulu"s eyes were red but opened wide. She was obviously trying to keep her composure but struggling.
I"d read in novels that women"s period blood could drive away ghosts. Whether that was true or not, I wasn"t sure. However, the idea of a beautiful young girl being buried under a toilet was horrible, and I didn"t want to think much about the event.
Lulu took a deep breath and said, "You know what? The ground palace came to me on their own initiative and agreed that I should be avenged. They were afraid of me but also know that wronged souls can only harm their enemies and thought I deserved a chance before I moved on."
The last few words Lulu spoke slowly and forcefully.
"But you didn"t get revenge?" I asked curiously. Xiao Lingdang had said that once wronged souls had avenged themselves, they would immediately leave the earth. Since Lulu was still here, it was obvious she hadn"t been able to take her revenge.
There was a strange glimmer in Lulu"s eyes as she said, "No, he finally went into the underground palace with his friends, so I couldn"t find him."
The underground palace… is that the legendary emperor"s mausoleum on Jiang San"s land again?
I asked Lulu, and she confirmed my thoughts. Wu Jian had also said that the seeking-life doll had gone into the palace, and now it turned out that Huang Shuai had gone there too. Was the palace some kind of bad guy nest?
"I"ll help you," I said to Lulu. I already had to go to the palace to help Wu Jian anyway.
Lulu was stunned, but she smiled and shook her head. I didn"t understand her reaction and she didn"t seem eager to explain it, so we both fell silent.
It was very late by that time and I let out a deep yawn. Lulu looked at me like she was about to speak. I waited in antic.i.p.ation, but she just continued to stare at me.
I was so sleepy that my eyes shut of their own accord, then I almost fell forward and onto the ground. Fortunately, the sensation of falling woke me up and I quickly sat up straight. I caught sight of Lulu"s hand reaching out to catch me before she quickly pulled it back.
Lulu, whose eyes were reddish, continued to look at me, then she said in a low voice, "Because I loved him?"
"What?" I wasn"t sure I"d heard her correctly and wasn"t sure what she meant.
Lulu, biting her lips, said after a long time, "I loved him, but it was because I didn"t understand. Once, showing off my ability, I was able to sleep in the accountant. When I woke up, he was next to me, and he told me that I had slept with him. Since I had done that, I was his woman. I just...I didn"t do anything with him."
Lulu looked at me, her eyes pleading. I could not understand what she meant or what she wanted.
She smiled mournfully, shook her head and said, "I shouldn"t have asked for anything. I have sworn it, that I would like him to pierce my heart with the love of the ten generations. I swore that. I should not have asked for it. I should not."
I reached out and laid my hand gently on Lulu"s shoulder, asking with concern, "Lulu, are you all right?"
Lulu raised her head, smiled, and shook her head, tears slowly falling down her cheeks.